7x57 Ruger re-barrel?

you can get a shaw short chambered barrel and rent a reamer. the ruger is a long ation the 280 will fit.

The early Ruger 7x57's had a very long leade at the end of the chamber. If you're a reloader you can load bullets out longer (closer to the lands). Often times, if the barrel is in good condition, this will result in much better accuracy. The 7x57 in a modern action like your Ruger can be uploaded to equal or exceed the more modern 7/08.

call ruger and say it wont group they will give you a new rifle, you only pay about 60% the cost.

Back when Ruger started making bolt guns they didn't know how to make barrels. Some shot great while others shot poorly. Someone told me that for a while someone made some of their barrels. I had a tang 77 in .270 that would not shoot for beans.

cornfused said:

The early Ruger 7x57's had a very long leade at the end of the chamber. If you're a reloader you can load bullets out longer (closer to the lands). Often times, if the barrel is in good condition, this will result in much better accuracy. The 7x57 in a modern action like your Ruger can be uploaded to equal or exceed the more modern 7/08.

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I had a good friend that bought 2 in 7x57. One shot like a house a fire while the other was just plain dismal. That's the way the early Rugers were.

351 WINCHESTER said:

Back when Ruger started making bolt guns they didn't know how to make barrels. Some shot great while others shot poorly. Someone told me that for a while someone made some of their barrels. I had a tang 77 in .270 that would not shoot for beans.

I had a good friend that bought 2 in 7x57. One shot like a house a fire while the other was just plain dismal. That's the way the early Rugers were.

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my 77T 7x57 shoots very good under a inch with ppu 139 even.all other rugers i have owned shot good to, but some guys just got some bad ones. ruger did make it right for thoses rifles, relacing barrels for free.

marsman13, if you want i can load you up some and see if the gun likes them.

what have you done with cleaning the barrel, sometimes guns need a cleaning and some like being dirty, and will take 50 or 100 rounds to start shooting good. the ruger 77 stock fit me very well.

I recently bought a No. 1 RSI in 7x57. I’m still learning what it likes, but it clearly prefers 175 grain pills over 140’s or 150’s, no doubt due to a long throat. Have you tried some of the 175 grainers?

troy fairweather said:

you can get a shaw short chambered barrel and rent a reamer. the ruger is a long ation the 280 will fit.

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The .280 factory ammo, unfortunately, is very anemic as well. The pity is the .280 is a fantastic hunting caliber but if you don't reload, it's not much better than a factory 7mm-08.

I owned a RSI 77 in 7x57 and as much as I wanted to love that rifle, I just never was satisfied with how it shot. If I were you, I'd have it re-barreled in 7mm-08.

you can make a 7x64 it is very close to the 280 but loaded to more potential then the 280. ppu is really the only ammo made but it's under $15 a box online.

marksman13 said:

Looks like 280 Rem is pushing the same bullets at the same speeds as the 7x64 in terms of factory loads. The 280 Rem is a LOT more common. Don’t know if I’ll ever re-barrel this rifle, but we’ll see. 257 Roberts has always intrigued me too. Maybe that’s what I go with.

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if you do rebarrel i may be interested in the old barrel.

As the owner of a Rem 721 .257 Roberts that I inherited 1990, if you’re not fired up about handloading the 7x57 you may become pretty frustrated with the .257 as well.

Factory loads aren’t as common as other calibers, and sometimes it takes a handload to shoot well in them....much like the 7x57.

It’s a great caliber, but (unfortunately) it’s been slowly on the wane for ages.

Give the old 7mm Mauser (AKA .275 Rigby) another chance, I think once you find it’s sweet spot you’ll never want to let it go.

Stay safe.

If you rebarrel, the 7mm-08 will get you like performance to the trusty old 7x57 and there is a lot of good factory ammo available. I would try some of the heavy bullets in the 7x57 first though, it's the best chance for accuracy.

As has been stated the throat , and probably the chamber , are likely huge. Dimensions are for the military ammo designed in 1892. Also some extra clearance was added in to allow for dirty ammo.
Two experiences with Ruger 7x57. M77 tang safety. Throat was so long had to load round nose 175 gr. To get close enough to the leade to get decent accuracy. If 175 pointed bullets were used they exceeded the length that would fit in the magazine. No 1 rsi. Leade was long and chamber was gigantic. Neck area was so large that a 30 caliber bullet would drop into the case after firing. Three loads was all I would get before the neck split. Ruger stated that was fine as you are not supposed to use handloads in their rifles. Both are long gone and good riddance.
Chambering to 280 is a decent option. If you look around some of the factory ammo is not as slow as some people say. If you don't handload stay away From the 257 Roberts. Ammo is tough to get at times. You could always stockpile a bit if you wanted. I have seen when not a single box was available anywhere.

I have a tang safety Ruger in 257 Roberts. Poor accuracy.

The first thing to do is bed the action. Factory bedding allows huge gaps and clearances between the action and stock and the action will slide within the stock. Then, if that does not improve things, replace the barrel.

I talked to a major manufacturer of barrels and that company verified being a Ruger barrel supplier (this was before Ruger started making their own). The barrel maker I talked to said that Ruger was buying the absolute cheapest barrels, like $7.50, the vendor made. I think bedding and the fact that Ruger used the bargain basement barrels, and probably a poor chambering job, is why so many owners of those earlier M77's complain about the rifle not being accurate.

Slamfire said:

I have a tang safety Ruger in 257 Roberts. Poor accuracy.

The first thing to do is bed the action. Factory bedding allows huge gaps and clearances between the action and stock and the action will slide within the stock. Then, if that does not improve things, replace the barrel.

I talked to a major manufacturer of barrels and that company verified being a Ruger barrel supplier (this was before Ruger started making their own). The barrel maker I talked to said that Ruger was buying the absolute cheapest barrels, like $7.50, the vendor made. I think bedding and the fact that Ruger used the bargain basement barrels, and probably a poor chambering job, is why so many owners of those earlier M77's complain about the rifle not being accurate.

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After my dismal experience with my 77 tang safety I never bought another Ruger rifle (that was after buying two Ruger ranch rifles) that redefined shooting poorly!

351 WINCHESTER said:

After my dismal experience with my 77 tang safety I never bought another Ruger rifle (that was after buying two Ruger ranch rifles) that redefined shooting poorly!

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Only based on a sample of one, but I believe the later Ruger M77's with the Ruger produced barrels, can be made into an accurate rifle.















An earlier un bedded group. It got worse as the action pounded clearance in the laminated stock



I took it to the range, just had time after a 100 yard reduced NRA XTC match to shoot this, prone with a sling



and the bedding job really tightened things up.

I heard that the Ruger #1 came with better barrels. This is contemporary with the tang safety M77's, I purchased this late 70's or early 1980's, and I believe the barrels are good.

Reaming out the chamber on the existing barrel to .280 or .280 AI might be an option.